Christmas Season. Take 2.

So I bet I don't have to remind anyone that this last week was Christmas. Which means that this last week was hectic and full of family, presents, and, of course, food. I know that beforehand I was super worried that that Christmas time would be a really hard time for me to be away from my family. I thought homesickness would hit me hard and that it would be really difficult for me to enjoy Christmas time here. Thankfully, that wasn't how it went down. I mean of course I missed my family back home and would have really liked to have been there to celebrate with them, but it was such an honor to get to experience what Christmas is like in Germany. 
Last weekend my host family drove down to Leipzig with another exchange student and his brother. I'm considering studying in Leipzig for a semester or two of college, so it was nice to get to walk around the city. They had a huge, christmas market and so many beautiful buildings. We also got to meet with some other Americans and it was such a wonderful day.

So in Germany Weihnachten begins right after church on December 24th and a lot of parents hire Santa Clauses to come to their house and deliver presents. I actually was in our church's play for the Christmas service, so I like said stuff in German in front of a lot of people. I was pretty nervous, but everyone said I did well. Afterwards we went to my host mom's parents' house to celebrate. We all ate together and then opened presents. The 25th we celebrate with my host dad's family. We went to a Christmas buffet for lunch and then had coffee and cake a few hours later and then had dinner a few hours later. I was able to skype with my parents for a little bit during the day, just long enough for them to watch me open my presents, but it wasn't until late that night that I was really able to skype my family back home, and man was that wonderful. I ended up staying up until 2am, but it was so worth it just to get to watch my sister open presents and play a few rounds of bingo with my family. 

I am luckier than I can express, and I have you all to thank! I hope everyone had a wonderfully Merry Christmas and has big plans to bring in the new year! 

Germany vs. America. Round 3. The Christmas Season.

So it's about mid-December and that means that there is only one thing on everyone's mind: Christmas. While this holiday is very similar in both America and Germany, there are quite a few differences as well.
First off, in Germany there is a big focus on the Advents season. There are four Advents (today is the 3rd) and every Sunday my host family lights the corresponding number of candles on our wreath (today we'll light 3) and sings Christmas carols and it's pretty lovely. In America, I didn't really acknowledge that there was an Advent. It was all just Christmas season.
The holiday season has always began the day after Thanksgiving for me, which is when we would begin to put up all of our decorations and our Christmas tree. In Germany you put up decorations after Dead Sunday, a holiday in November to honor all those who have died in the past year, and you put up your tree sometime around Heiligabend (December 24th).
In Germany kids open their presents on the 24th, a day earlier than in America. Also, all of their presents come from Santa Claus, instead of just a few from Santa and then the rest from family and friends.
Christmas could certainly be a difficult time, being so far away from my family, but I'm trying to find a new thing I love for everything old the I miss. Although I'm missing the 24/7 Christmas music on the radio and the over-the-top Christmas decorations on the houses, I'm loving the Christmas markets and Christmas cookies.
Whether you're in Germany or America right now, I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas/Advent season and are looking forward to a few days with no work/school. I know I sure am!

*I also decided to do away with the point system because I decided it was pretty inaccurate and dumb, since neither America or Germany is better, they're just different.